Modern digital cameras typically include an imaging device which is controlled by a computer system. The computer system accesses raw image data captured by the imaging device and then processes and compresses the data before storing the compressed data into an internal memory. Efficient operation of the computer is therefore an important consideration for camera designers and manufacturers. The memory architecture of a particular computer system determines data storage techniques and can thus significantly effect the operational efficiency of the entire digital camera system.
Due to architectural limitations of conventional digital cameras, there are several drawbacks in the user interface that restrict how captured images are displayed and manipulated by a user. The user interface in conventional digital cameras typically includes a view finder for displaying a series of image cells. Each image cell, in turn, displays a small version of a corresponding captured image. Displaying several cells in this manner allows a user to review several images at once. When the user selects one of the cells in the view finder, the full-sized version of the image is then displayed in the view finder.
One problem with conventional digital cameras is that the file format for storing captured images does not directly support the display of image cells. For example, most traditional digital cameras store compressed images in a particular file format in memory. The file typically includes both a header that optionally stores the date and time that the image was taken, and the captured image data itself. The captured image is usually stored in the file as a Joint Photographic Expert Group (JPEG) data.
When a conventional digital camera is to display a series of image cells in the view finder, the digital camera must first retrieve the JPEG data from the appropriate files, decompress the data, and then process the uncompressed images by resizing the images to the size of the image cells. One drawback to this approach is that the decompressing and resizing operations reduce the speed at which the camera can display the full-sized images in the view finder.
Another drawback is that the file format for storing captured images does not support the storage of additional information regarding each image that may be of use to the user. Thus, a conventional digital camera that has stored many pictures can only offer the date and time that each image was captured to distinguish the images for the user.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved system and method for displaying captured images in a digital camera. The present invention addresses such a need.